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Hubert Willis

British actor (1876-1933)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionOct 1, 2025
Entity authorityQ5927686
Source-derived summary

Hubert Willis (1862 – 13 December 1933) was a British actor best known for his recurring role as Doctor Watson in a series of silent Sherlock Holmes films co-starring with Eille Norwood.

Stage career

Willis appeared in the copyright performance of William Gillette's play Sherlock Holmes (1899) in an unknown role. He played Planchette and Lavrille in Never Again at the Vaudeville Theatre (1897) opposite Allan Aynesworth. Captain Welsh opposite Robert Taber in Bonnie Dundee at the Adelphi Theatre (1900); Brother Jerome in The Sacrament of Judas at the Comedy Theatre (1901); Rushey Platt, MP in Love in Idleness at Terry's Theatre (1902). Dick Snaresby in Brown at Brighton at the Avenue Theatre (1903); Mullins in the original stage production of Peter Pan at the Duke of York's Theatre (1904) opposite Gerald du Maurier as Captain Hook/Mr. Darling and Nina Boucicault as Peter Pan; Jenkins in Castles in Spain at the Royalty Theatre (1906); Dubois in The Hon'ble Phil opposite G. P. Huntley at Hicks Theatre (1908); Mr. Curry in The Test at the Court Theatre (1906). and Village Handyman in The Man with his Back to the East at the Court Theatre (1912).

Sherlock Holmes films

Willis made his first film appearance as Shelton in the silent film The House of Temperley (1913), an adaptation of Rodney Stone by Arthur Conan Doyle. Between 1921 and 1923 he played Dr.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Hubert Willis” as british actor (1876-1933). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Hubert, Willis and British.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1862, 1933, 1899, 1897—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1876-12-10. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Hubert, Willis and British providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Hubert Willis”, the useful work is to connect “british actor (1876-1933)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 1, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5927686. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1862, 1933, 1899 and 1897.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

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  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Hubert Willis”, its source revision and the description used here.
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  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Hubert Willis” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.